Friday, 9 December 2016

There were some very high scores in last week's newsquiz. Maybe it was easier that usual - or maybe you are all reading the news more forensically. The top scorers were Liz Gerard and Damon Wake with a record-breaking 21. Damon posted his score on Twitter saying 'Runs round office doing Shearer salute'. Given that it is a UK-based quiz, and he is based in Paris, that is an impressive performance. Alex Murphy scored 18, Lydia Willgress and Mike Lowe, 17 and Ginger Elvis and Natalie Marchant, 16. The top team score was 20 by Adam and Lucy of the Batstone Dream Team. Here is this week's quiz - a little more challenging I hope. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Let me know how you get on.

Brexit dominates the Telegraph headlines (Questions 1 to 3)

1. How many MPs, including Kenneth Clarke, did not vote to commit the Government to triggering Article 50 by the end of March?

2. Theresa May called for a ‘red, white and blue Brexit’ while on board HMS Ocean in which country?

3. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said, on Peston on Sunday, that certain people should be excluded from the net migration numbers because they are ‘of massive benefit to this country’? Which people was he talking about?

4. Boris Johnson told a conference in Italy that Saudi Arabia and Iran were 'playing _____ wars’. What is the missing word?

5. Far-right candidate Norbert Hofer described himself as 'infinitely sad' after losing which country’s presidential election?

6. Who resigned as Italian prime minister after being defeated in a referendum to change the constitution?

7. Which two drug firms were fined nearly £90million by the competition watchdog for ‘unfair' pricing to the NHS? Half a point for each

8. Which Scottish MP reduced MPs to tears when she revealed in the Commons that she had been raped at 14?

9. Chief executive Bimlendra Jha said: 'I think it's the grit and determination of the employees that has made the difference and people have really contributed’. Which company’s employees was he talking about?10. The last of the Navy’s Invincible-class aircraft carriers left Portsmouth to be scrapped in Turkey. What is the ship's name?11. A 26-year-old Birmingham man, Zakaria Boufassil, was found guilty of giving £3,000 to Paris and Brussels terror suspect Mohamed Abrini. What nickname was Abrini widely known by?

14. Police said that 83 suspects had been identified in connection with allegations of child sexual abuse in football. What is the police operation called?

15. British actor Peter Vaughan, best known for roles in Game of Thrones and Porridge, died at the age of 93. What were the names of the characters he played in each programme. Half a point for each16. Complete the sequence: Pope Francis (2013), Ebola fighters (2014), Angela Merkel (2015)17. He was born in Bournemouth in 1947, played bass for a 70s supegroup and reached No 2 in the UK charts with a Christmas hit. Who is he?18. John Glenn, who died age 95, became a national hero when he was the first American to orbit the Earth … in what year?19. List the top four parties (in order) in the Sleaford and North Hykenham by-election result20. Eleven-year-old Cruz Beckham received a mixed reception for releasing a festive song. What is the song called?21. Micro-artist Graham Short engraved tiny portraits on four new five pound notes - raising their value to a potential £20,000. Whose portrait did he engrave?22. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which animal faces extinction after a 38 per cent decline since 1985, their numbers falling from about 157,000 to 97,500?23. Who wore wore colourful ties this week including one with a piano keyboard pattern and one with a 2012 Team GB Olympic design?24. Who was visibly shocked when his wife told him he had been called a ‘f****** lower middle class snob’ on television?25.Melanie Hamrick gave birth to a baby boy. Who is the father?

Monday, 5 December 2016

The Daily Mail group is once again recruiting trainee journalists. Since 2003 I have been training sub-editors for the paper and since 2007 I have beentraining reporters. Four years ago we started a course for online journalists. This year’s intake, apart from those destined for MailOnline and theDaily Mail in London, included 14 trainees for DailyMail.com in New York and eight for Daily Mail Australia in Sydney. There were also two trainees onthe Stephen Lawrence scholarship. Many graduates of the courses are now seniors at the Mail. The investigative team is made up of former trainees,Larisa Brown is defence correspondent; John Stevens, who was Brussels correspondent, started his new job as Whitehall editor today; Lara King isassociate Femail editor; Martha Kelner is the Mail on Sunday’s athletics correspondent; Alex Richman is assistant night editor; Jennie Agg is associatefeatures editor - to name but a few. Every department at the newspapers and online is staffed by ex-trainees. Many who trained in the UK are now working in New York andSydney.

The 2016 MailOnline trainees from the UK and America at Derry Street

The training is a real investment by DMGT. The successful applicants spend between two and four weeks training in the Mail’s London offices and are then placed at regionalnewspapers and agencies before returning to the Mail the following year. It is hard work that requires real commitment. If you don’t want to workshifts, nights and weekends then it isn’t the job for you.The training will begin in August and September 2017, so is suitable for those graduating this academic year.

The 2016 newspaper trainees

The deadline for applications is February 10 - but we would appreciate it if you could apply well before then. If you are interested, send a coveringletter, your CV and three examples of your work to Sue Ryan at sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk. In the subject of your email please put your name and theposition you are applying for ie subbing, print reporting or online.There are vacancies for trainee reporters and subs (both news and sport) on the newspapers and journalists (news and sport) at MailOnline. Details are onHold The Front Page. If you are applying you might want to take a look at my advice on how to prepare for an interview. Good luck.

Friday, 2 December 2016

Well done to Nick Martin who was ‘in raptures’ after scoring a massive 19 in last week’s newsquiz. Other high scorers were Mike Lowe with18; Adam Batstone, on a rare solo outing, Jessica McKay and Janet Boyle all scored 16 and Ginger Elvis 15. The top team score was by my Friday night drinking pals in ThePlough who scored 20. Elsewhere Eleanor Hayward and Xantha Leatham; Lydia Willgress and James Dunn and Penmans United all scored 15. Here’s this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Crash in the jungle (Question 8)

1. Who defeated Zac Goldsmith in the Richmond Park by-election?

2. Which football club faces disciplinary action after ‘secretly’ settling a complaint from a former youth player over alleged historical abuse by former scout Eddie Heath?

3. Eric Bristow was sacked by Sky Sports after writing on social media: ‘If some football coach was touching me when I was a kid as I got older I would have went back and sorted that ____ out.’ What is the missing word?

4. Where were Alan Duncan, Emily Thornberry, Robert Mugabe, Alexis Tsipras, Gerry Adams and Spain's ex-King Juan Carlos this week?5. François Hollande became the first sitting president in modern French history to do what?6. Why was Julia Dockerill in the headlines?

7. Princess Beatrice sliced Ed Sheeran's face with a sword when attempting to 'knight’ whom during a party prank?8. What was the name of the football team that was almost completely wiped out by a plane crash in Colombia?9. Abdul Razak Ali Artan was shot dead after ramming his car into a crowd and injuring 11 people with a butcher’s knife at which university?10. Who was found unconscious at a Novotel Hotel in Stevenage and taken to hospital?11. ITV News journalist Mark Austin told of his teenager daughter’s battle with what illness?12. New Ukip leader Paul Nuttall denied his own website's claim that he played professional football for which team?13. What did Prince Harry and Rihanna do together in the Bahamas?14. Theresa May discussed Brexit, defence and Russia with Beata Szydlo in Downing Street. Who is Beata Szydlo?

15. Who said of Theresa May: 'We have a female prime minister here in the UK. I actually really like her and think she’s wonderful’?16. The Bank of England upset vegans when it confirmed the new £5 notes contained a substance made from animal fat. What is the substance called?17. Joe Bartley made headlines by landing a job at the Cantina Kitchen and Bar in Paignton. How old is he?18. A misconduct hearing was told that Manchester Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe told a junior colleague she was 'silly, vain and frivolous' for doing what?

19. Who said on Twitter: 'I’ve had the most fabulous three months’ but added it was the right time to go?20. Nicole Kidman, Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet, Penelope Cruz and Julianne Moore are among 14 Hollywood actresses to appear make-up free where?

21. Forty-eight skeletons were discovered in an extremely rare 14th-century Black Death burial pit site in which county?

22. He was born Andreas Siegfried in Berlin in 1930, his family fled to London to escape the Nazis, he was assistant stage manager at a Bexhill theatre and became famous by speaking broken-English. Who is he?

23. A man wielding an axe was shot twice by police in which city?

24. What record did footballer Ben Woodburn take from Michael Owen?

25. Which company is to make 500 cups for autistic 13-year-old Ben Carter?

Friday, 25 November 2016

Liz Gerard was the runaway top scorer in last week's newsquiz with a massive 18 points. She tweeted: 'Wow! after languishing in single figures for the past month, I managed 18. Yippppeeeeeee!!!!!'. Well played. Here is this week's quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week's events. Let me know how you get on.

Jo Cox on the front page of the YEP (Question 5)

1. What did Chancellor Philip Hammond say would be his first and, after detailed discussion with the Prime Minister, his last?

2. The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement targeted a group referred to in Whitehall as Jams. What does the acronym Jam stand for?

3. The Chancellor announced the launch of a three-year National Savings and Investment (NS&I) bond with an expected annual yield of what per cent?

4. The Autumn Statement announced that £1.4billion would be set aside for 40,000 what?

5. Jo Cox's husband Brendan said of her killer: 'We feel nothing but pity for him, that his life was so devoid of love that his only way of finding meaning was to attack a defenceless woman who represented the best of our country in an act of supreme ______’. What is the missing word?

6. During Storm Angus a Stena Line ferry, with nearly 150 passengers and crew on board, was stranded in which bay for more than 24 hours?7. A care home in Cornwall was closed and three others are under investigation after an exposé about the treatment of residents. Who carried out the exposé?8. Who won the first round of France’s centre-right presidential primaries?9. Justin Bieber was filmed appearing to punch a man who reached into his car in which city?

10. The Advertising Standards Authority banned a commercial for what product for health and safety reasons?11. Why was a Pakistan International Airlines flight from Toronto to Lahore diverted to Manchester airport?12. Footballers Andy Woodward, Steve Walters and David White said they had been abused by their coach when they were teenagers playing for which club?13. Angela Merkel announced she would run for a fourth term in the German elections next year. What year did she become Chancellor?14. Who cancelled the St Pablo tour and was taken to hospital after a suffering a 'psychotic break’?15. According to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson there is no vacancy for the job held by Sir Kim Darroch. What is the job?16. Who denied reports that he had described Jeremy Corbyn as 'a nutter' or Theresa May as 'a lightweight’?17. Donald Trump described which musical as ‘overrated' and its cast as 'very rude’?

18. Gorka Marquez underwent dental surgery after two of his front teeth were badly chipped when he was assaulted in which town?19. Bruce Arena returned to his old job, succeeding whom?20. The Duchess of York is suing for damages - 'reflecting what she has lost in earnings' - from News Group Newspapers over the cash-for-access sting by Mazher Mahmoud? How much money is she seeking?

21. Antonino Fernández was reported to have left £2million in his will to each resident of the small Spanish village Cerezales del Condado where he grew up. Fernández was the founder of which famous brand?

22. Why was Stephen Port in the headlines?

23. A woman was killed when an armed man entered a retirement home for former missionaries on the outskirts of which French city?

24. At least 140 people died in which country’s worst train accident in six years?25. A school lesson plan aimed at RE classes uploaded to the Times Educational Supplement website caused a stir by claiming that which story ‘promoted domestic abuse’?

Friday, 18 November 2016

There were some impressive scores in last week's quiz. Top was Gavin Devine with a personal best of 17, just ahead of Janet Boyle on 16. Nick Martin also scored a PB with 15. The top team score was by the Batstones with 15. Here is this week's quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week's events Let me know how you get on.

1. At Prime Minister’s Question Time, Theresa May replied to SNP MP, George Kerevan, saying: 'All I can say to you, I'm afraid, is that such matters are normally never discussed in public.’ What matter was she referring to?

2. Andrew Marr defended an interview, broadcast on Remembrance Sunday, by saying: 'In the end we are a news programme and I don’t think that the best way to honour the fallen is to fail to report on the next big challenge to western security’? Which politician was he interviewing?

3. Why did Thomas Mair, charged with the murder of MP Jo Cox, not appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday?

4. Politicians and musicians are to record a charity single in memory of Jo Cox. Which song will they sing?

Friday, 11 November 2016

Well, that was an amazing newsweek. I could easily have written 25 questions just about the American elections - but you will be pleased to know I haven't. Last week's top individual scorer was Adam Shergold with 16. The top team score was an impressive 18 by The Penmans (with Daisy on fire). Here are this week's questions. As usual 25 points to be won. Let me know how you get on.

The biggest story of the week (Questions 1-5)

1. Donald Trump needed 270 electoral votes to win the presidential election. How many did he actually get?

2. Donald Trump will be what number president of the US?

3. In his acceptance speech Donald Trump said: 'Now it’s time for America to bind the _____ _____ _____’. What are the three missing words?

4. Which currency took its biggest two-day tumble in more than 20 years after the Trump victory?

5. Police threw stun grenades and flares at crowds of rioters after anti-Trump protests turned violent in which city?

6. Theresa May said: 'I don't want to take ____ for granted like Britain has done in the past.’ What is the missing word?

7. An extra minute's silence was added to the Armistice Day ceremony at which town’s Cenotaph today?

8. Prince Harry laid a wreath at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and read the poem The Soldier. Who wrote it?

9. Andy Murray was ranked world No 1 in tennis after reaching the final of which tournament?

10. The killing of a ten-year-old boy - and his father's fight for justice - was the subject of a BBC drama. What was it called?11. Police stormed into which racecourse weighing room to arrest one of three jockeys accused of raping an 18-year-old girl?

12. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced eight military sites are to close. They include which garrison, built following the Battle of Culloden, that is the home of the Black Watch battalion?13. Russia said two of its destroyers forced away a submarine spying on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in the Mediterranean. From which country was the sub?

14. Who admitted it had been hit by 'a systematic, sophisticated attack' at the weekend?15. Leslie Ronald was born in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, in 1921, and was the first person to have consecutive No 1 hits in the UK. How was he better known?16. Matthew Baker and James Whitlock went missing from which institution?17. Seven MPs from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee claimed they were ‘bugged’ during a visit to which company’s headquarters?18. What caused a social media storm when it changed shape and reduced weight?19. A statement issued this week said: 'This is not a game - it is her life and his.’ Name the two people that statement is referring to. Half a point each.20. A report found that numerous errors were made in Scotland Yard's investigation into paedophile allegations against VIPs and that the decision to abandon the police operation should have been made earlier. What was the operation called?21. M&S announced the closure of how many UK clothing and homeware shops?

22. Jill Gascoine’s husband revealed she was is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. She was best known for her role in a TV police series which ran from 1980 to 1984. What was it called?

23. His first eponymous album was released in 1967 and his last, You Want It Darker, was released this year. Who is he?

24. Why was Nick Jablonka in the headlines?

25. Who said: ‘I’ll be 56 in December and there’s life in the old bird yet. Now I’m a menopausal mama, I’m having the time of my life’?Answers here

Wednesday, 9 November 2016

Well, that was a night for newsrooms to remember. Trump's triumph and Clinton's demise were pored over in detail on social media. It was fascinating and emotional to watch and a far cry from my days at the newsroom coalface when it was all about print. The newspapers themselves are still important though and there were some strong front pages around today. Here's my pick.

The New York Daily News produced some robust anti-Trump front pages throughout the campaign - and it has sent a clear message that it isn't going to dilute them now. The News couldn't even bring itself to use a picture of the President-elect on Page 1. Given that Trump has called reporters 'lying, disgusting people', we can look forward to a feisty four years.

The Australian press isn't afraid to speak as it finds - and doesn't shy away from colourful language either. Here's Sydney's Daily Telegraph. WTF stands for Will Trump Flourish. Of course it does.

Le Journal de Montrealexpresses a similar sentiment

El Periódico, the centre-left Catalan newspaper based in Barcelona, uses a photograph of Trump in full flow. The headline says God forgive America. No sitting on the fence here.

Elsewhere in Europe there was a clear lack of enthusiasm for America's choice. You don't need to speak German to work out that theHamburger Morgenpost is not impressed.

The power of tight cropping is demonstrated well by France's Liberation. Trumpocalypse needs no translation.

Germany's Märkische Allgemeineappeared to offer a brief glimmer of hope to Clinton supporters waking up to the news. But the paper was just employing that old trick of having a mirror page that newsagents can turn around according to the result. The Daily Star in Lebanon did the same thing four years ago.

Back in America, the New York Post, unusually,played a fairly straight bat

The New York Times and The Washington Post use the same Trump triumphs headline in the same position.

USA Today and TheWall Street Journal both go for President Trump. USA Today has big display at the top and plenty of detail below the fold. A strong broadsheet page.

The Chicago Sun Times calls on Trump's Apprentice days ... a headline and picture working together.

The San Francisco Examiner mentions the rage. The Born Golden advert has to be deliberate.

Back in Australia there is Shock and Awe in the Herald Sun ...

... and Revolution in The Sydney Morning Herald.

A Birmingham News page inadvertently appeared briefly online - showing what might have been. But it was soon replaced by the real front.

And in the UK ... here's the ThePress and Journal in Aberdeen.

The Manchester Evening News. Bat out of Hell is a good advert for the occasion ... it could easily have been the main headline.

And here's this afternoon's London Evening Standard. Given everybody in the world knows Trump won, I am surprised a bigger show isn't given to the Croydon tram crash.I look forward to some creative and dynamic front pages by the British papers tomorrow - although newsrooms will be torn between this and the events in Croydon.

Friday, 4 November 2016

The top scorer in last week's newsquiz was Janet Boyle with an impressive 15.5. Here is this week's quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Brexit blocked - MailOnline breaks the news

1. The British Government is to appeal against the High Court’s decision that parliament must vote on Article 50. Which court will hear the appeal?

2. Name the businesswoman who led the campaign for a judicial review of the Government’s triggering of Article 50.3. Bookmaker Ladbrokes halved the odds, to 7/4, of what happening?

4. Which MP announced he was standing down with immediate effect due to 'irreconcilable policy differences with the current Government’?

5. Home Secretary Amber Rudd told MPs there will be 'no statutory inquiry or independent review' into what?

6. One of England’s oldest hotels was destroyed in a huge fire in Exeter. What was the hotel called?

7. MPs were accused of bringing the House of Commons into ‘disrepute' after voting to allow Keith Vaz to join what?

8. As news of their relationship broke, Prince Harry has apparently been staying at actress Meghan Markle's house in which city?

9. Michael Heseltine dismissed as 'rubbish’ a story that he had choked the family dog to death. What was the dog called?

10. A race meeting was abandoned after jockeys Freddie Tylicki and Jim Crowley were treated for serious injuries after a fall at which racecourse?

11. Which two celebrities paid £15,000 each for artwork by 11-year-old Rhea Kara? Half a point each.

12. Brett McGurk wrote on Twitter: 'Ways to go, but ahead of schedule.’ What was he referring to?

13. The head of MI5 warned that Russia is willing to use 'propaganda, espionage, subversion and cyber-attacks' against countries including the UK. What is his name?

14. England players will wear poppies when they play on Remembrance Sunday despite a Fifa regulation banning them. Who are England playing?

15. Why was Tomasz Kroker in the headlines?

16. A 22-year-old man was stabbed to death in a knife ambush by masked men on a night of Halloween mayhem in which town?

17. A 36-foot effigy of who is to be burned at Edenbridge bonfire on Guy Fawkes night?

18. Who beat England in a Test match for the first time ever?19. According to official figures how many people died in the four earthquakes that struck central Italy this week?20. A new batch of email messages that, according to the FBI, may be pertinent to Hillary Clinton’s campaign were found on whose laptop?

21. What did Theresa May wear to accept her Politician of the Year Award from George Osborne?

22. Who agreed to stay in his job until June 2019?

23. Theresa May made a mistake and offered her congratulations to Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister’s Question Time. What did she congratulate him on?

24. The new pound coin will be introduced next March. How many sides will it have?

25. Who is to stage a concert to reopen the Bataclan music venue in Paris this month, the day before the first anniversary of the attack that killed 90 concert-goers?

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Sands Media Services is a training and design consultancy run by Peter and Pam Sands. Peter is also consultant editor at Press Association Training. He is a former editor of The Northern Echo, non-executive director of Northcliffe Media and from 2006-2011 was chairman of the judges in the Regional Press Awards. He has redesigned 90 newspapers and magazines and is in demand as a trainer, speaker and editorial consultant. Pam is a former director of the Editorial Centre and Press Association Training. Our partners include Press Association Training, ffresh, the visual communications company run by Mike Brough, Alan Geere, Brian Page and other senior journalists and designers.
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